Layers in Husserl's Phenomenology provides close readings and analyses of a number of Husserl's key translated and untranslated works across the entirety of his corpus. While maintaining a dialogue with four decades' worth of scholarship on Husserl, Peter R. Costello provides a number of new and significant insights that depart from earlier interpretations of his work, along with a revised, consistent translation of a number of important Husserlian terms.

Layers in Husserl's Phenomenology situates Husserl firmly within the trajectory of later Continental thought and contributes to the recent reconsideration of Husserl as a legitimate precursor to the thought of Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Emmanuel Levinas, and Jacques Derrida. Written in a readable style appropriate for both undergraduate and graduate students, this study will be valued by those interested in phenomenology in general and in Husserl in particular.

Peter R. Costello is an associate professor in the Department of Philosophy at Providence College.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter One: What It Means To Experience An Alien Other I. The Natural Attitude and the Problem of Reflection II. The Possibility That Alien Other Persons Are Among Us III. An Actual Alien Other—There in the Flesh!

Chapter Two: Intersubjectivity—Syntheses and Product of Encounters With Alien Others Introduction Initial Definition I. The Syntheses at Work in Encounters With Alien Others II. Intersubjectivity as the Basis for Intuiting Essences

Chapter Three: How Others Demonstrate (and Call Upon) Our Embodiment I. One's Own Sensation Shows the Structure of Relations With Others II. The Ego as Synthesis of Overlaying and AnalogueIII. Transcendental Ego's Body is the Life of the Life-World

‘It is a superbly written study of the philosophy of Edmund Husserl…Costello's book makes a significant contribution to the field, and will be important for scholars and students alike, both for the study of Husserl and for the broader question of phenomenology's importance as a fruitful approach to urgent issues in philosophy.’

Scott Marratto, Review of Metaphysics, December 2013

‘Costello provides a valuable addition to Husserlian scholarship, primarily due to the clarity of his writing and excellent choice of examples.’